London Euston closure: when is it happening and how will it affect me?
No trains will run to or from London Euston station this weekend
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Your support makes all the difference.London’s busy Euston station will remain closed this weekend for the last in three consecutive weekends of closures, with no trains running on the busy West Coast mainline.
Network Rail is undertaking essential engineering work in the region, which will have significant repercussions for people wanting to travel to the Midlands, the North West and Glasgow.
Virgin Trains has made all tickets after 9.30am on Friday 31 August available at off-peak prices, in an effort to offset the disruption to passengers.
The company is warning customers: “We highly recommend that you avoid travelling on these dates unless absolutely necessary. If you choose to travel on these dates, you’ll need to plan carefully and allow longer to get to your destination.”
When will the station be closed?
Euston station will be closed on Saturday 1 September and Sunday 2 September.
Which services will be affected?
Virgin Trains and London Northwestern Railway services to Liverpool, Manchester, the Midlands, the North West and Scotland will all be affected, with no services departing from or arriving into Euston station on Saturday 1 September and Sunday 2 September. The Caledonian Sleeper between London Euston and Edinburgh will not run.
Up-to-date timetables, rail replacement services and alternative route maps for Liverpool, Manchester, the Midlands, the North West and Scotland can all be found here.
Virgin’s services are starting and ending at Milton Keynes Central, which has far less capacity than Euston. As a result, trains will be much less frequent.
Many travellers are expected to switch to Chiltern Railways, which runs services between Birmingham and London Marylebone. The train operator is laying on some extra trains but warns that services will be extremely busy.
Can I use my ticket on an alternative route?
Virgin Train ticket holders will be able to use their tickets for alternative routes. Tickets will show ‘any route permitted’. Details of the alternative routes can be found here.
A spokesperson for London Northwestern Railway told The Independent that ticket acceptance was not in place with other operators: "If passengers have a London Northwestern only ticket, usual flexibility with other ticket types, e.g any permitted route, remains as it would on any other day," they said.
Can I get compensation for disruptions to my journey?
Virgin Trains passengers with open tickets (off-peak and anytime) who choose not to travel are entitled to a full refund. Passengers experiencing any disruption over the weekend will be entitled to Delay Repay compensation.
London Northwestern Railway passengers are not eligible, however. A spokesperson for the rail company told The Independent that as the engineering works were "planned disruption", compensation would not be available. "If passengers have purchased tickets and decide not to travel, then we would advise them to contact our customers relations team to look at claiming a refund.
"If passengers are delayed significantly beyond the advertised journey times due to delayed buses/trains, they should put in a claim for delay repay as they would on any other day," a spokesperson said.
Why is the closure happening?
Virgin Trains states that the works are part of an ongoing improvement scheme from Network Rail to replace signalling and lineside equipment and lay new track. It says that that the works will make the route more reliable and robust.
In addition, Network Rail is replacing North Wembley junction, one of the key intersections on what is claimed to be Europe’s busiest “mixed use” railway.
Martin Frobisher, managing director for Network Rail’s London North Western route, said: “There is never an ideal time to shut the railway but these three weekends are the least disruptive times to do it.
“It’s vital the track at North Wembley is replaced to continue to safely meet the huge demand of passenger and freight rail services on the West Coast main line. This work will result in better, more reliable journeys in future.”
Where can I find out more information?
Contact your train provider directly, or check the train operator's social media and websites for up-to-date information. Also check National Rail's website.
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